Throwing Down Pieces
by potterfan36041
Summary: Kimberly has broken up with Tommy. They both try to go on with their lives without each other, but a tragic accident brings them back together.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers or anything related to the series.

Setting: Kim and Tommy have broken up and they are both trying to heal without each other, although it does not work very well for them.

_Tommy's POV_

This has officially been the worst week of my life. I thought it was bad when Kim left to go to Florida. No let me rephrase that when we forced her to go to Florida, I told her to follow her dreams. What a stupid thing for me to do. I didn't want her to leave, no one here really wanted that to happen, our whole team was torn apart but it was her dream to go and try to do this, try to get on an international gymnastics team and compete. I never thought that her dream would not include me in it, but that seems to be what she wants. She's found someone else.

What's his name? I don't know and I really don't care who he is. Well, actually the last part is a lie, but I'm trying to convince myself that this really is for the best. Otherwise, I might be tempted to go down there and whoop his ass. I, however, cannot do that because there are so many rangers that are depending on me to be the calm rational one. Damn this communicator, it's never quiet anymore and now I have to go face the rangers who feel sorry for me.

"Yes, Zordon," Tommy said, disheartened to have to answer this when he didn't even want to be a ranger anymore. He would give up everything he had gained by being a ranger if he could only get her back at his side. He didn't care how much that would mean giving up, it hurt him too much to think of a life without her. He had never thought that he would fall this hard for someone while he was in high school, but he had and he didn't know how to live without her anymore.

"Tommy, please teleport to the Command Center," Zordon said, as Tommy looked down at his communicator wondering what in the world was going on now, before he teleported to the Command Center. He could only imagne the worst and he really did not want to have to fight tonight. He wanted to be allowed to mope around.

"Tommy, there is someone here you need to see," Zordon said, as the red Power Ranger landed in front of him wearing only his boxers and looked to have been laying down on his bed before Zordon had interrupted him from his revelry.

Maybe seeing Jason would do something to make him feel better or at least bring him back to reality in some way. He had been walking around as a zombie would and they all knew that he would have to be snapped out of it, sometime soon. They couldn't risk him being like this much longer or he would get seriously injured out there.

"If their name is not Kimberly Hart, I'm not interested in seeing them," Tommy said as Jason walked up behind him and took a few deep breaths.

This was not the Tommy that he had left when he went to the Peace Conference. Tommy had been confident and loving, now he seemed to loathe anything that was around him that could possibly remind him of the person that hurt him. He had expected some thing like this from Tommy, but he had not expected it to be so harsh and abrupt. It was as if he no longer cared who he hurt and what it might do to them.

Jason had talked to Kim before he came out here and he had to admit that she was happy, but he didn't know if it would last with the guy. He had a bad feeling about the guy that she had dumped Tommy for, but he knew Tommy wouldn't want to hear about it. And he had already received an earful from Kim when he shared his opinion of her new boyfriend with her and he did not want Tommy to get his hopes up, because by the time Kim realized how much she messed up. He might have moved on, to who, he was not sure, but Tommy might find the strength to do so.

"Sorry about that, I just heard from Zordon," Jason said as Tommy turned around and tried to not smack him because he was smiling. Jason soon got the idea that he might want to wipe the smile off his face and quickly did so and tried to show some sort of sympathy in his expression. He could not help but be happy to be back and he didn't want Tommy to feel so bad. None of them had seen it coming and none of them wanted to admit that their lives had been changed forever when the damn letter arrived.

"Sure," Tommy muttered, as he doubted Kim had not called Trini to talk about all of this mess.

He was sure that Jason had heard about it, but he could only pray that he had not been in contact with Kim. Tommy could not stand to think about that possibility and he hoped Jason wouldn't tell him, even if he had talked to her. It would just be cruel to put him through the torture of hearing news about her life.

"Tommy, I'm not going to say this many times, but you have to trust me that things will be fine. It's going to take some time, but it will all work out. Now, why don't you come with me to meet with the rest of the rangers?" Jason asked, as they were sitting in the break room hoping Jason would be able to convince Tommy to come talk to them. He hadn't talked to them since he had gotten the letter and they were all beginning to worry about him. None of them had thought that it would take him this long to get over the relationship. They, however, didn't know how much he really loved Kimberly. He couldn't just get over that in a couple of days.

"I want to go back home, Jason. I need to think some more," Tommy said as he reached for his communicator and left without another word. When he landed in his room, he walked back over to his bed and lay down, to continue to drown in sadness. He no longer felt alive. His soul had left him when he read the letter destined for him and he didn't know if he would ever get it back.

_Command Center_

"Is he coming?" Katherine asked as Jason shook his head no and they all exchanged a look. Tommy was their leader and he didn't want anything to do with them anymore. He didn't want to fight, he didn't want to be there and it was hurting all of them. He only wanted to be able to have Kim, but he was never going to go after her because of the duty that hung over his head. Jason wished he could tell him to go down there and tear the boy to pieces, but it seemed that Kim did like him, even if it was not the same as Tommy. He had the feeling that something was going to change and cause Kim to come back, but why give Tommy false hope? "Damn it, he has to move on sometime. We have to figure out a way to help him."

"Kat, she just broke up with him. We have to give him some time and we may have to use some sort of force if it goes on too long. But lets give him a little bit more time to see if he can get together on his own," Jason said soothingly, as he knew from Trini that it wasn't all happiness in Florida either, but that didn't matter. Tommy would only think there was hope there, but Jason didn't know how much hope was really left.

"Jason, it's been a week. He's got to break out of it sometime. We need him to have a brain out there, he's almost gotten himself taken out over the last few days. I don't know if we can take that sort of trauma to the team," Rocky said as Jason nodded his head and then looked across the room at the rangers. Some of them had been friends with both of them and now they felt as if they had to choose between them.

"I know that, but guys, we can't be forced to choose between them. What they don't know, won't hurt them," Jason said as Billy, Rocky, and Adam all looked at him with some confusion before they understood the point he was trying to make. They had to still be friends and they had to make sure Tommy would get over all of this, in order for them to go back to normal.

AN: I know that this is a fairly short chapter, but I hope you enjoy the beginning.


	2. Another Piece of the Puzzle

Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers or anything related to the series. I do own the character of Alex Myers.

**speakofthetruth:** I hope that this will become interesting in this chapter, as you get to see Kim's side of things.

**Traveling Reviewer:** I thought long and hard about your review and I came up with some things that I think I agree with you on. Kim's boyfriend is going to be a good guy, but Tommy is going to continue as is. I think that I need to follow that much in order to make the ending I have seem plausible. If you continue to read, I hope that you enjoy it.

**forevercrane:** I'm not too worried about it, I think I've been a victim of this person before. But Kim's situation is going to be somewhat stickier than I first planned, although so things will not be changed, like Tommy's general disposition right now.

_Kim's POV_

This last week has been one of the most rewarding and hurtful weeks I have ever experienced in my life, thus far. I broke up with Tommy Oliver and started dating Alex Myers. He is a member of the male gymnastics team her and unlike Tommy, he understands the pressures of being in this place.

Tommy just didn't understand what it was like to be pressured to always do your best and know that if you didn't do your best, then you might suffer the consequences of never having another practice to make it right. But enough about the rewarding, I can't help but say some things about the hurtful. They are going to be emblazened in my memory much longer than the good things that have happened.

Jason flew down to see me before he went back out to California. He told me about why he is going back, but he also gave me a good, old fashioned, scolding. I know I was not the most humane person in my way of breaking up with Tommy, but Jason was almost cruel with what he had to say.

He said that Alex was in this relationship for one thing, but I can't really imagine that being so. Unlike the other guys here, he took an interest in me from day one, before he even knew anything else about me. He showed that he cared when no one else around here did. Jason just must be wrong in his read of Alex. I think it just bothers him that I broke his best friend's heart, but I really didn't mean to do that to Tommy. I just couldn't think of another way to break up with him.

"Hey, you've been quiet tonight. Something on your mind?" Alex asked, situating himself in the chair next to her in the lounge. Other gymnasts were sitting around, but most had gone on to their dorm rooms to do their homework. Their intense practice schedules only left the evenings open for homework and there was nothing that they could do to change their coaches ways. They had to work long hard hours in order to have a chance at the team, but right now Kim was taking a little break to recover from this week.

"Just thinking about what Jason said to me," Kim said, as she could not help that the admonishment still rang in her ears whenever she was around Alex.

Jason had always been a good judge of character and she knew he could take or leave her relationship with Tommy. It had always been that way and she was surprised to see that he had changed his mind on that point. If Tommy was really taking it that bad, she was worried, as a lot more people would suffer besides him.

"Why does it bother you? He'll get over it, eventually. Tommy is his best friend, Kim. What did you expect out of him?" Alex asked, as he had heard what Jason said, although Jason had not tried to make it to where no one could hear him.

"Not this. He has never acted like that before when I've told him about someone I am interested in. He was going out to California after he left here and he may tell Tommy everything that is going on. I don't know if he needs to hear it," Kim said, although she doubted Jason would do that. She knew he was going to be busy enough with his new appointment and she doubted he would really have the time for that sort of conversation. He was probably going to only have time for classes and fighting.

"Why does he mean so much to you?" Alex asked, as he tried to find out more about her past. He had never been able to get her to open up to him about that.

He didn't know much about what she had done before she came to Miami and he felt it was something he needed to know. He, however, did not have the slightest clue what his prying might do to him if he found out the truth. There were some things that she could share with him, but that had never been one that she had even thought of talking about. It went without saying that she was not supposed to talk about her time as a ranger and although Jason was one of her best friendss, her ranger career had a lot to do with their bond.

"You wouldn't understand," Kim said with a smile as she stood up. She knew she had some work to do before she went to sleep for the night.

She also didn't want to admit to Alex that she was going to call Trini. He knew that she took comfort in calling her, but he also didn't know that her other friends had shut her out because of her decision. They had to loyal to the team leader and Tommy still held that position with an iron clad hand, despite his impaired mental shape.

"Do you have early practice tomorrow?" Alex asked, as he stood up and reached to give her a hug.

"Yeah, but that means more time to rest and I need that right now," Kim said as she turned to go to her room and she felt his eyes on the back of her neck as she walked away, but she refused to look back. He didn't have the pull on her that other people had, had in the past, but one day he would develop that pull. It had taken Tommy awhile to do that, but she knew now that if she saw him, she could not help but turn around and look at him.

"Hello," Trini said as she picked up the phone and knew it could only be one of two people. If it was Kim, she might refuse to talk about Alex. She really didn't want to hear anymore about him. She had dealt with it when she heard Kim was breaking up with Tommy, but she couldn't continue to act as if she was just fine with it.

If was Jason, she would happily listen to the complaints that she was sure that he had. He loved being a ranger, but the situation he was in now, pushed his own limits. He came in knowing that it was going to be hard, but he had not expected to find Tommy in the mental condition that he was in. That was just one more obstacle he was going to have to work against and they didn't need anymore of those right now.

"Hey," Kim said in a perky tone as Trini settled herself in to listen to whatever was said. Kim was her friend, but she was not sure what sort of judgement Kim now had. She had not met Alex and she couldn't really judge him, but Jason had her worried, although Jason was biased. He was going into a situation that had disaster spread all over it. "Trini have you talked to Jason?"

"Yes, why?" Trini asked as she had heard from Jason what he saw and thought when he went down to Florida. She had to admit that she was worried about the situation. Jason's character checks were some of the best and she was confident that he was right, but she knew Kim probably wouldn't listen. Alex had seemed to sweep her off her feet and she knew that it took Kim awhile to come back to Earth after something like that happened. From what she knew, Kim still hadn't landed from Tommy's sweeping her off her feet.

"Do you know why he came down so hard on me?" Kim asked, as she knew she would not be able to truly go on until she knew what had caused him to act that way.

"Because he just has this feeling about Alex, Kim. You know how he gets when he has feelings like that, plus he is under a lot of extra stress. He is going back out there to be with him and you kinda made it harder," Trini said as she placed her book on her nightstand. She was going to have to head to class in a few hours, but she hadn't been sleeping well since Jason left, not that she told anyone that. She could never admit that to others when she couldn't even admit it to him.

"But Trini, it was worse than normal," Kim said, as Trini sighed.

Jason had really told her everything, but she felt that Kim should be talking to him instead of her. He was the one that said it to her after all and he should be explaining to her why he did it. Trini just knew that Kim couldn't take another lashing from him, though. She had been hoping that Jason would be supportive, but he just said he'd be there as a friend, he couldn't agree with the relationship.

"Kim, you've got to trust me when I say that Jason just has a feeling. He may be wrong, but think about it, okay? He's only saying it because he's your friend and he cares about you," Trini said, as she knew that if Jason was right then Kim might be going down a road that she was not going to like the end of, but she was in charge of her own life. They had to let her live it the way that she wanted to.

"Alright, Trini. Have you been doing okay?" Kim asked as she was one of the few people that knew how Trini felt about Jason and she could only hope that time would treat the both of them right.

"As good as can be expected. Zack keeps on trying to cheer me up, but it's been rough. He calls every day and I just pray that I have the strength to make it through these next few months without him. I'm coming back to the States in about a year and I'll hopefully straighten out this mess," Trini said, as she wiped away a few stray tears that were leaking from her eyes.

"I wish you would have told him before he left. He would have wanted to know," Kim said, as she knew that the long distance was going to kill Trini and she knew that Jason must be pained by it to call every day. She just hoped that they two of them would be able to keep themselves afloat during this rough time in their lives. If they were able to make it through the distance, which could hurt their friendship, then they could make it through anything. "I gotta go, Trini. You need to get some sleep and I need to go take a shower. I'll talk to you whenever I get some more time."

AN: I know that this is a very short chapter, but I wanted you to get Kim's mind set on things and how everything seems to be going in Florida to her. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and feel free to review.


	3. Trying to Go Back to Normal

Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers or anything related to the series. I do own the character of Alex Myers.

**Ghostwriter:** Thanks for the review and I hope that you really did enjoy both of the chapters.

**forevercrane:** Thank you for the review and this is the soonest that I can get out another chapter.

Now, on with the Story!

_Jason's POV_

Well, I thought that Tommy would be able to get over it in about a week, but he is still not himself. I don't have the class schedule that some of the other rangers have and since I'm closer to him, they want me to try to break him out of this. I told them it was crazy. I told them that I was going to get my ass whooped when I walked into his room. I told them I was not going to wake him up. I was not going to put myself in the position to be hurt. Now, I'm here this morning. They weren't too sympathetic as to what might happen to me, they need their leader back more than anything else.

"Get your ass out of bed," Jason said as he walked into Tommy's bedroom and yanked the covers off of the still sleeping, red ranger.

He had not been getting to school on time or doing much of anything since Jason arrived a week ago and he now thought the time was right for drastic measures to be taken. He actually had been told it was time, but he did agree with the other rangers. He could not afford to wait much longer or they would lose what little bit they still had of Tommy here in California. They couldn't lose that part of him as well, they had to get him back to reality and let him know it was okay to hurt. It was okay to mourn the relationship he had lost, but he had to let them help him, although it was going to be hard to convince him of that.

"Five more minutes, Dad," Tommy grumbled, snatching the covers back from Jason and curling up in a ball in the center of his bed.

Any other time Jason would have laughed at what Tommy was saying and let him go back to sleep, but he knew that it was going to take him the next five minutes, at least, to get him out of bed and in the shower. That was his goal for today and he was willing to risk anything to achieve it, including bodily harm and having Tommy pissed off at him for a couple of days.

"Nope, out of bed," Jason said as he snatched the covers off the bed and threw them on the floor, which was cluttered with various articles of clothing and other knick-knacks Tommy decided to throw on the ground over the last few months, from what it seemed. He hadn't been himself since she left and Jason knew it was worse now that she had broken up with him. None of them had seen it coming and he wished that he had, maybe they could have stopped it. "You are going to get to school on time today."

"Damn it, what do you want from me?" Tommy yelled as he sat up and Jason had to physically restrain himself from laughing. Tommy's long hair was sticking out at all sorts of odd angles and his boxer shorts were slanting across his waistline, from his obvious tossing and turning overnight. It was hilarious to him to see Tommy look so un-together, but he knew that he was going to be decked soon, which he was prepared for. He had honestly thought that he would have already been, at least, slapped by now for trying to wake him up. "At least I've been showing up this week. That is more than you can say about last week. Just let me sleep."

"Tommy, showing up is not enough. You can't fail, you can't give up and you know what, you are pretty close to doing both right now," Jason said, as Tommy glared at him.

Tommy had been flirting with the edge of sanity lately and he was about to go over the edge because of Jason's musings. Everyone else wanted things to go back to normal, well he didn't feel as if anything would ever be normal again. Why couldn't they just let him get over it on his own terms?

"Jason, you don't know what it is like to lose someone like that," Tommy said as he stood up and headed across the room toward Jason, with the full intent of knocking the living mess out of him and then climbing back in bed for the next hour, while Jason tried to make sense of which way was up.

"You're right, I don't, but you won't let us help you. You don't act as if you even know us and then you almost get yourself killed in battle. Tommy, we can't lose you, whether or not you believe that is your choice, but it is the truth. We have lost enough rangers to other things. We can't afford to lose you because of something you can't control," Jason said, as he knew how much everyone depended on Tommy to be the strong one.

Jason, however, knew that Tommy was only putting on a show for most people and right now the show was working very well to fool everyone, except him and Billy. That was one of the only reasons he was standing here, risking bodily harm this morning. He had to put a stop to Tommy's show, because it would only hurt all of them in the long run. Tommy had to get over it, because when the show finally fell, everyone was going to see the sad person that he really was. It would hurt them if the Machine Empire, somehow, fgured it out.

"How am I supposed to move on?" Tommy asked, as he looked Jason in the eyes and despite the hilarity that could arise from the situation, Jason knew that he had to answer the question with a straight face. Tommy needed advice and he doubted he would like what he heard, but it was at least a start. Tommy wanted to try to move on, although Jason did think it was nearly impossible for him.

"You have to forgive and then you have to try to find someone else that you can love, that is nothing like her. You can't just pick the next girl with brown hair that comes along. You have to take sometime and be single," Jason said, as he knew that Tommy might cling to the next gymnast with brown hair that came his way and that was not a good thing. They would have to live up to Kimberly and he was not sure that anyone would ever do that in Tommy's mind.

"I'll be at school, Jason," Tommy said as he knew that what Jason said was right. He, however, had to hop in the shower to do battle with his hair before he could even consider getting dressed for school.

_At School_

"Did you talk to him?" Tanya asked as Jason nodded his head yes and Tommy walked up behind him. His hair was still partially wet, but at least he was at school on time and that was an improvement for him. They took everything as progress now and they were only hoping that it would continue, in the coming weeks and months.

"Yeah," Jason said with a smile and then he went to his locker. Unlike most of the other rangers, he had a lighter course load due to his time at the Peace Conference and he enjoyed every bit of it. It had given him the time to come up with a plan for Tommy and he was glad that it seemed to have worked well.

"Hey guys," Tommy said as he put on his happy façade for the rangers.

He knew that with time all of this was going to get easier, it was just that the time it took to get better was what bothered him the most. He didn't really know what to do without her and he was having to start all over, which was scary considering all of the other things that went on around him. He had depended on her, more than he thought, and he couldn't help but think that he might have taken her forgranted during the last few months of their relationship.

"Hey, you going to the Youth Center after school? The kids have missed you over the last few days," Rocky said, trying to let him know that there were people that still cared about him. It was going to take all of them to bring him back to himself and he was going to do everything that he could to get him back there. They all had depended on Tommy and it was now time that Tommy needed them to help him out of a bind. He deserved to get help from them.

"If nothing happens to stop me," Tommy said with a smile, as Katherine walked up and he looked at her with a new light in his eyes.

Okay, Jason had said someone that had nothing in common with Kim, but he had to admit that Katherine was good in her own right. He couldn't help but look at her and wonder whether or not he might like her, but it was too soon to assume something like that. He had to go with friendship for the time being and see what happened, nothing could move fast for him right now.

"Like all of us, then," Rocky said as the bell rang and they had to go to class. Tommy was in class with Adam and they all knew he would look after him during first period, but after that there was not much of a guarantee that he would be well looked after, as none of them had classes with Tommy until after lunch.

_After School_

"Rangers, I need you to come to the Command Center. There is an emergency," Zordon said, as Tommy looked at his communicator in awe.

He had been heading to the Youth Center this afternoon to teach a class, but it seemed that it was just going to have to wait for another day. He really didn't like that idea, but he had to try to go back to normal sooner or later and it seemed everyone else was voting for sooner, although he wished he could have a little longer.

"Coming Zordon," Tommy answered as he looked around to check that the coast was clear to teleport, after seeing that it was, he teleported in to see what was happening. It couldn't be a battle or they would have been taken to it, but he honestly couldn't think of what it might be. Zordon had never called them in for an emergency that they didn't have to fight in.

"Rangers, I am afraid that you will be going a short time without a way to get your powers. Due to the last few fights that you have been in, everything is extremely weak. We have to take some time to repair and upgrade. If there is a battle, you will have to fight without your powers, but it should be for no more than a few days," Zordon said, as they all looked up at him with a questions in their eyes. It didn't make sense for him to do this now, but there was something going on that they must not know about, something that would put them all at a great risk.

"Zordon, why?" Tommy asked, as he looked up at the leader and knew that there was something going on that Zordon was waiting to tell them.

"Your powers need to be conserved, for the time being, just trust me Tommy when I say it will only be a few days. At least I hope it will only be a few days," Zordon said, as Tommy looked at him and then turned to the others. This was their cue to leave and they all assumed that they would be brought back as soon as they had their full powers back in their possession.

"That's odd, why would he do that?" Kat asked as they walked into the Youth Center and sat down at their customary table. They had never had Zordon do anything like this before and she honestly didn't know whether or not this was unusual.

"I don't know, there is no telling with Zordon," Tommy muttered, as the others noticed his first attempt to make a true conversation with someone else. Maybe things were going to turn out all right for him after all.

AN: I know, another short chapter, but I can't really make these too long, until the meaty stuff comes in, but I hope that you enjoy it anyway!


	4. Rude Awakenings

Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers or anything related to the series. I do own the character of Alex Myers.

_Words in this writing indicate dreams._

_Kim's POV_

_Kimberly Hart found herself walking through Angel Grove, once again, being able to gallivant on its peaceful streets. As the moments passed, she found herself longing for something, although she was not quite sure what it could be, as everything seemed normal. Her fellow rangers were around her, but she knew one was missing and was beginning to worry about him, although this was not unusual. He always seemed to be late for things, even the important things that went on in his life._

_"Jason, what's going on?" Kim asked, but Jason continued to walk, as if he had not heard anything that she said. They were all talking with each other and seemed to be happy, as they were before she left and came to Miami. So, why were they ignoring her like this? She was there, wasn't she? "Jason!"_

_It was then that she noticed two people coming from a distance, leisurely walking towards the group. As they neared, she realized who they were and could not believe that this was happening. Tommy and Kat were walking towards the group and she could still see the faint sadness in his eyes, although she was sure that he could see her there. He had to see her there._

_"Hey, has it been peaceful?" Kat asked, as the remaining rangers nodded their heads. It seemed as if they had had their powers taken away and that when the peaceful times came, they were rejoicing that they had it. "Up for a picnic?"_

_"No, have to go to the Youth Center. I've missed to much work there lately," Tommy said with a smile and then he turned. Kim followed him, not knowing why she was compelled to do so, but knowing that it was the only thing that would curb her curiosity about the situation. Surely he would see her soon; out of all of them, he would be the one to recognize that she was there._

_"Tommy!" Kim yelled and he turned around, but not because of her voice, but because of a sound he had heard in the nearby bushes._

_"Lovely to see you here," a being said, as it came up on Tommy and just as it was about to fire its weapon, the whole world seemed to shift back to reality._

"No!" Kim yelled out it her sleep, as Alex rushed over from the couch and shook her shoulder to wake her up. He had been told by her roommate that she was having nightmares and he had hoped he would be able to get them to stop. It had affected her at practice before and the last thing she needed was for the coaches to come down hard on her again. She had had a bad couple of weeks and if it didn't get better she was going to be asked to go home and he didn't want her to leave yet.

"Kim, wake up," Alex said, as he continued to shake her shoulder.

When she finally opened her eyes, she began to cry; knowing that what she had seen might very well be true. The rangers didn't seem to have any powers anymore and the evidence had been all over the news lately. They hadn't been fighting and the media across the country was wondering where the Power Rangers were.

"Oh, God no," Kim muttered, as she continued to cry and Alex sat there, wondering what sort of dream would bring her to tears like this. "Not him."

"Shh. It's alright, nothing has happened," Alex said as he rocked her back and forth. He remembered the dreams she first had when she came here and he couldn't help but wonder if they were back. But why would they come back in the first place? Nothing bad was going on around here. "Come on, I'll fix you some hot chocolate."

"Kimberly, what is wrong with you today? Your concentration is somewhere else. You have been sloppy and this is completely unacceptable. I expect you of all people to do better than that," Coach said as Kim lifted herself up from the mat that she had so ungracefully fallen face first on, just a few seconds earlier. She had to admit her mental status was disturbed but she couldn't tell him why.

It was the news that caused her to be this way. There had been attacks in Angel Grove over the last weeks days and the Power Rangers had not showed up to help any. She hadn't even seen them teleport in a single time. It made no sense to her why they were not showing up and she couldn't help but wonder if she needed to go back to Angel Grove. She was worried about her friends, but she was mostly worried about Tommy, who she had heard was still not doing all that well by means of Trini's hotline. She hadn't talked to Jason since he arrived in California and she got the feeling that he had to be very busy at his new post.

"I'm sorry. The news just bothered me this morning," Kim said, as she walked back over to the balance beam and prepared herself to try the routine again. She doubted she would be able to stick it the way that her mind was wondering, but the least that she could do was try.

"What news, Kimberly?" Coach asked, as he knew some of the history of the town in California that she had come from.

It was always being attacked by some demented creature and it seemed to him like every time things were particularly bad in California, Kimberly's skills were particularly bad in Florida. He just hoped that she would be able to get out of that routine, although it did seem rather hopeless to make that wish, as it did happen every time.

"The attacks by the monsters and no sighting of the Power Rangers. It just doesn't seem right," Kim said, as she knew that her coach had heard of the rangers, but he did not know much more about them. He just knew that they were the ones to fend off the attacks. He had seen that when he had come to California and he knew what they did. He just didn't know that she had been one of them.

"Oh, well, I think I have my answer as to when you will be back to normal," Coach said, as Kim looked at him, completely baffled. He had figured out that she was always fine once her boyfriend sent her a letter to assure her that things were really okay out there and that all of her friends were fine.

"When is that?" Kim asked, as she walked away from the beam, sensing that her coach did not really want her to continue with her routine anymore at the moment.

The balance beam took more concentration for her than anything else and he would always pull her off of it on a day like this. He did not want any of them to be injured and he knew her history with the apparatus.

"When you get a letter from Tommy, telling you that they are all fine out there and nothing has happened to any of them," Coach said, as he saw a cloud come over her eyes at the mention of Tommy's name. "Oh, you don't expect a letter from him this time?"

"No, we broke up," Kim said simply as Alex walked into the training facility and saw Coach talking with Kim. He didn't think that it was too bad, as Coach was not yelling, but the look he saw in Kim's eyes told him that she was thinking about things that were far more hurtful than him yelling at her.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't know. Why don't you go work on your floor routine and we'll tackle this part later in the day," Coach said, as Kim gave him a gracious smile and sprinted off towards the floor mat. He had never seen another athlete's mood change so quickly, but he got the distinct feeling that her emotional changes stemmed from a past that no one else here knew about, even him.

_After Practice_

"Hey, what was coach talking to you about?" Alex asked, as he walked up beside Kim. She looked like she had taken a beating today and he couldn't understand why, but he was sure that he would be able to find out about it.

"Why my focus was off," Kim said, as she hurried back to the dorms, almost at a dead sprint. She was hoping to catch the news and she could only pray that everything had calmed down or that the rangers had reappeared. If not, she was seriously considering calling Jason tonight and asking about what was going on out there.

"Well why is it?" Alex asked, as he was concerned about her as well.

He knew it must be pretty bad if she was running like this and he could only hope that he could somehow help her mood. She had not smiled at him at all during practice today and he knew that meant she was either really concentrating or having a horrible day. He had voted for the horrible day since the beginning, considering the way she woke up this morning.

"I saw the news this morning. Angel Grove is being destroyed by monsters and the Power Rangers haven't showed up," Kim said, as she had told Alex about the frequent monster attacks. She just hadn't told him that she had fought in most of the attacks as a ranger. She still felt the need to uphold the code of secrecy and who was going to believe her if she told them that anyway?

"Well, maybe they are taking a break. It is possible that they got tired of crime fighting," Alex said, as Kim gave him a stern look. He got the feeling that he had just put himself in a cup of hot water and he was not sure how he was supposed to pull himself out of it without risking further injury.

"They don't take breaks, Alex. It just doesn't work that way," Kim said and it was his turn to give her an odd look.

She always talked as if she was an authority on Power Rangers, as if she really knew what they thought and did, in all situations. He was not quite sure how to take these conversations, as he always said something to make her ill. If he didn't know any better, he would think that she had been one herself, but she would tell him something that important. Or at least he hoped that she would tell him something like that.

"Okay," Alex said, as Kim switched the television station to the news, which caused the groans of several of the other gymnasts. They had been happily watching _The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air_ when she walked in and they had hoped to finish the show, for once.

"Come on, Kim. We don't need to know how beautiful Angel Grove is doing this evening," Jamie, Kim's roommate, joked as Kim turned around to allow her to feel the implications of that statement. Kim was going to watch the news every night until the rangers showed up again. She wanted to know if one of them was hurt while they were fighting without powers.

"I just want to see if things have changed since this morning," Kim said, simply, as the news bulletin came up. There had been five reported casualties and no sighting of the rangers. This wasn't looking to good for Angel Grove, but she still held up some hope.

Kim did, however, see six civilians fighting with the creatures and after giving the television a hard look, figured out who they were. Tommy, Jason, Adam, Rocky, Katherine, and a new girl were all fighting, although they didn't morph. What was going on to cause them to not morph at all? That had only happened a handful of times and it was never for a very good reason.

"No, change, huh?" Alex asked, as he had not seen the bright spandex suits dart from out of nowhere to fight the monsters. He had gotten used to seeing them on the screen and he had to admit that he was slightly worried, just because of the way Kim acted. She seemed to know that this was more than just a simple miscommunication among the rangers, it seemed as if something was seriously wrong with the whole situation.

"No, there isn't one. I'm going to go call Jason, alright?" Kim said as she turned to walk out of the room. She knew that it wasn't really her business anymore, but she had to admit that she was worried about the rangers not showing up in uniform.

"Hello," Jason said, sounding exhausted.

"Jase, it's me, Kim. What's going on out there?" Kim asked, cutting to the chase. She knew what it was like to want to go on to sleep after a battle and she could tell Jason felt that way. She'd feel that way to if she had been doing all of the things that they had been doing lately.

"Zordon is holding our powers. We can't morph and I don't know how much longer we can take these battles," Jason said as Kim nodded her head on the other end of the line. She didn't really have anything to say to that, but she didn't expect what Jason said next. "By the way, Tommy and Kat are dating now."

"Good for them," Kim lied as she felt her self sink down onto her bed and gaze across the room and nothing in particular. She said she was over him, to everyone, so why did it hurt so much to hear he was dating another girl? "Jason, I'll go ahead and let you go. You need to get some rest."

"Kim, be careful out there. There's no telling if they won't come after you too. Trini and Zack were attacked the other day," Jason said and then hung up the phone without a good-bye. It was not that he forgot his manners, he was just too tired to understand everything that was going on.

Jason's statement, however, had hit her like a freight train. She honestly couldn't believe that Tommy was dating Katherine. She had expected him to move on to other people, but not to the girl that had replaced her. She just hadn't thought that it would hurt her so much to hear the words that he was dating someone else. It was the first of many reality checks that she was going to have to prove that she loved him, maybe even more than Alex, but would she ever be able to make the choice between the two of them?

That night, the dreams returned only this time she was not so lucky as to make it out of the dream without any harm being seen.

_Again, Kimberly Hart, walks through the peaceful streets of Angel Grove, although this time she heads towards the school. As she reaches the school steps the cries of students within are heard. This did not seem to be an ordinary day and she wondered what was happening inside of the, usually happy, walls._

_"He's gone. He's really gone," Katherine muttered, as Jason put his arm around her and gave her a quick hug. They all seemed to be consoling one person or another. What had happened here?_

_"Who's gone?" Kim asked, poking Jason on the shoulder. He, however, continued to not notice her at all. What was going on in this place?_

_"Adam, take her to class. I'll go talk to the principal, maybe he'll understand this better," Jason said, as he had tried to talk to alll of the other rangers._

_"Who's gone!" Kim yelled this time, but they continued to ignore her while someone walked up and reached out to touch her._

_"I'm the one that they are crying over," Tommy whispered, as she jerked her head towards him and gave him an odd look. How could they be talking about him? He had just realized she was there and was finally talking to her._

_"How can it be you?" Kim asked, as Tommy shrugged his shoulders and turned to walk away, leaving one final word of advice._

_"It isn't me yet, but it will be soon," Tommy muttered as he walked away and she stood there standing still, long after he had left her alone._

"It was only a dream," Kim muttered to herself as she jerked out of her sleep for the second night in a row. She knew that the dreams could be preminitions or they could merely be dreams and that was what she desperately hoped that they were.

AN: I am setting up for the final two or three chapters of this story. I know it is short, but I didn't ever plan for it to be an extremely long story. Be patient with me as I write the next chapter and I hope that you will enjoy how it is working up to end.


	5. An Injury

Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers or anything related to the series. I do own the character of Alex Myers.

_Tommy's POV (two months later)_

These last few weeks have been tough on all of us, it is something that we never thought we would be forced to deal with again. We can't use our powers and the Machine Empire continues to come after us, with more vigor each time there is a battle. They just seem to know that we are not going to morph and it is becoming risky out there for us.

Zordon has not contacted us to tell us that our powers are ready to come back and it does worry me. We've been lucky, so far, but I don't know how much long this sort of luck can hold out. We need to be able to fight like we normally would, if we are going to ever send them packing for longer than a few hours in which we try to treat our injuries.

"Tommy, are we patrolling this afternoon?" Rocky asked as Tommy was heading toward the Youth Center. He hoped to fit in time to teach a class today before the Machine Empire came down on them.

"I can't, but you can come get me if something goes down. I wouldn't really be surprised if that happens after the last two days," Tommy said as he saw Katherine running towards them and he couldn't help but give her a sad smile. They had broken up a few days ago and they had decided to keep it quiet in front of the rangers. They didn't need for them to start worrying again, as they were really all right with it. They had enough problems on their hands without adding that one to the mix. "Hey. What's up?"

"Listen, they found us in the park. We have to go, Tommy," Kat said, as both Tommy and Rocky sprinted away from her in the direction of the park.

Each day they had been doing this and each day they had prayed Zordon would contact them and tell them that they could morph. So far, they had not been so lucky as to hear their communicators go off and alert them that everything was back to normal. That day just had to be coming soon, if it didn't then they were going to be put in a really hard place soon.

"What type of monster is it? Do you know what powers it has?" Tommy yelled to Katherine as he continued to run towards the park. They needed to know something about this monster before they got into the fight or they could honestly be injured in a way that they would never believe.

"I don't know. They just sent me as soon as it arrived to find the two of you," Kat said, as she was running along, well behind the two athletic boys.

Several people were now running away from the park, but it always seemed that they never noticed the six teenagers that always ran to these fights. It was as if they didn't care who was there each time, as long as they weren't there at all and it was starting to infuriate some of them. If they were risking their lives, then there had to be some other people that would be willing to help, but no one had showed up in the past few months. The only people that they could hope would show up would be Trini, Zack, or Kim and they doubted that would happen, although they knew something was very wrong in Angel Grove.

"Holy crap," Tommy muttered as he saw the monster and noticed it was spitting fire in every conceivable direction. This really didn't look good to him.

Tanya, Adam, and Jason were managing to dodge the flames every time that they radiated from the creature's mouth, but that could only last so long. He also could tell that the monster was glad to see more people that he could try to spit his ammunition at and it worried him. One of them was probably going to be seriously injured today and there was absolutely nothing that he could do to stop it.

"Tommy, we can't wait for them to contact us! We have to at least try to contact them this time!" Jason yelled, as he dove to the ground to dodge another blast of fire and then quickly stood up as the ground was now ablaze around him. He had been busy dodging these blasts for the last ten minutes and each time, he felt them get a fraction closer to his skin. He knew that someone was going to be hurt and he just prayed that it was not too bad.

"I know," Tommy said, as he reached for his communicator. Just as he did so, the dragon-like monster hit him with a stream of fire and within seconds he felt himself being teleported, although he did feel a great deal of pain as well. This had been what they had all feared since they had been banned from using their powers and they hated to see Tommy get hit first. They had honestly hoped no one would get hurt, but it was not going that way at all and they knew that now.

"No! No! This can't have happened!" Kat yelled as she saw Tommy being consumed by the flames and then suddenly saw that he had disappeared from the battlefield.

Thank goodness, Zordon had taken him away from this mess, but why had he waited so long? This just didn't seem like Zordon at all and he wouldn't keep them away from their powers unless it was important.

"Where did he go?" Tanya asked as they saw the monster was gone, which did seem odd to them, but their minds were in other places at the moment. They then felt themselves being teleported to the Command Center.

They did not like the sounds that greeted their presence. They had never heard Tommy yell out in such an agonizing fashion and they all knew then thatTommy might die. They did not want to face the reality of someone possibly dying because of the battle that they had just been in. He had to survive this, somehow.

"Tommy! Tommy, don't…you have to stay with us. Don't let go," Billy commanded as Tommy was barely holding onto consciousness and he was trying to coherently make some request of them. He needed something from them and that was what was keeping him awake right now.

"Jason," Tommy managed to mutter as he saw him land in a glimmer of light. He knew he was only going to have one chance to say this and he had to get it out quickly. He already felt himself slipping closer to unconsciousness and he didn't know if he would come out of it this time, but he had one last wish.

"Yeah," Jason said as he walked up next to the gurney that Billy had placed Tommy on, after stripping him out of his flaming clothing.

"Call her," Tommy muttered looking Jason in the eyes and knowing he would figure out who it was, as he felt himself slip into unconsciousness. He knew he would not wake up for quite some time right then.

"Who? Call who Tommy!" Jason yelled, looking at Billy, who he thought might have some sort of clue as to the person Tommy wanted to be there.

"Does anyone know who her is?" Billy asked as they all looked at Kat, thinking that he might not have seen her come in, although Billy doubted that was the case. He just didn't want to be the one to say that Kim was the girl Tommy wanted to be here. It definitely wouldn't seem right, in his mind, considering some of the other thoughts that he had been having lately.

"Kimberly. That's the only person he would want here. We all know taht," Kat said as they all looked at Tommy and then stared at Kat, seeing that she seemed to be at peace enough to talk about Tommy's feelings for his ex-girlfriend. It seemed that she knew that she was not the one Tommy really wanted there, although they did feel uncomfortable. They still thought that they were dating.

"Are you sure?" Jason asked, as he was not sure that was who it could be, although it made sense.

It just almost seemed as if it was just going to be a recipe for disaster though. Kim was happy with Alex, from what he had heard. Tommy just seemed to be severely injured and it had never been like this before. It made sense that he would want Kim to be there, in case things did go wrong. He wanted a chance to take his blame for their relationship going down the drain, although Jason didn't exactly see it that way.

"Yes, I am. That's the only person he loves," Kat said as Billy walked up next to her and gave her a hug. Kat quickly settle her head on his shoulder and let out a broken cry. Tommy just couldn't die like this; he didn't deserve to die like this.

"You better call now. He may not…" Billy said as Jason turned to run out of the room. There was a telephone in the Zord Bay and it was the only way to contact her without leaving the Command Center. He didn't feel like he could do that, considering the situation that they were in right now. He wanted to make sure that he was close by, in case things went from bad to worse, quickly.

Meanwhile, Tommy was floating in and out of consciousness, hearing bits, and pieces of what was said around him. His mind traveled far away to a place of serenity and calm, which he had never known. He wondered what it would be like to go on into that place, but stopped as Kim's face came into focus. He had to stay here long enough to see her, even if it was for his last time.

AN: I know it is a little bit cruel to end a chapter like this, but I promise I will make up for it in the next few chapters.


	6. End in Sight

Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers or anything related to the series. I do own the characters of Alex Myers and Jamie.

"Kim, how have you been feeling? You've been too quiet today," Alex said, as Kim continued to stare off into space. She did not know why she felt so horrible today, but it was much worse than it had been lately. She was more worried about the rangers than she had allowed herself to be in weeks. She just had this feeling about how things were going today and she hadn't even bothered to look at the news. In her gut, she knew that things had gone badly.

"Kim, phone call," Jamie said, as she held onto the phone, knowing that the person on the other end was clearly distressed, although he was trying to hide it. "I think it's Jason."

"Jason, what's going on?" Kim asked over the phone, as she had not heard from anyone in California since she had written Tommy that damn letter, not that she really blamed them. They had to be loyal to those that were still rangers, in order to keep the team alive and going.

"Kim, I don't know how to tell you this, but Tommy's been hurt," Jason said, as Kim sat in her living room of her suite and stared over at a picture of the two of them and then began crying.

She knew that he was dating Katherine now, so she didn't understand why Jason was calling her when she had alienated all of them from her life. The only reason he would be calling her was if something was horribly wrong and Tommy had asked him to do this. She was sure that he had been hurt a lot during the last few months, but they had not called her every time that something happened.

"Why are you calling me Jase? He has Kat now, she should be the one hearing this news, not me. You know that," Kim managed to choke out as the tears continued to flow without her caring that she was receiving some odd stares from her roommate and her boyfriend. They had never seen her burst into tears about bad news on the telephone and they could only imagine that it had to do with her family.

She didn't like admitting those words to anyone, that Tommy really was dating someone else, but she had no choice but to say them now. She couldn't deal with the reality of it, but she was going to have to do so in order to be able to move on with her life. She only hoped that she would be able to do that as she knew that there was only one person that she truly loved and she would never feel the same about anyone else.

"Kim, before he passed out, he asked me to call you. You're coming out here, get by yourself as quickly as you can," Jason said, as she hung up the phone and Kim headed towards her room, trying to wipe the tears away without calling anymore attention to herself. She knew better than to not do what Jason said or she would be teleported out in front of her friends and that would surely freak them out.

"Are you alright?" Jamie asked, as Kim shook her head yes, but continued onto her room, without stopping to answer anymore questions that might come her way. She did not have to time to do that and she might be able to deal with this later, but not now. She knew that she had to do what Jason said and deep down she wanted to do what he said.

"Kimberly," Alex said, as he followed her into her room.

He had no clue of the position that he was about to put himself in as he reached the door and twisted the doorknob. When he walked inside, Kim looked mortified to have him in the room, but as he stepped to give her a hug, he felt the oddest sensation and suddenly knew that whatever was wrong, was on a huge scale. It was much more than just a simple call from Angel Grove.

"Kim?" Rocky asked, as he saw her land in the command center with this look on her face that told him that she knew what was going on. He, however, could not help but wonder who the other man was that was standing in the Command Center, wondering what the hell he had gotten himself into by giving her a hug.

Alex quickly noticed a familiar face in Jason and saw that he was worried about Alex's reaction to this. Jason had expected for Kim to come alone, but that had obviously been changed, as they had landed while hugging each other. He had no clue how to tell Kim this sort of news and wondered if she was going to be able to take what was said. She had never liked hearing that Tommy was hurt.

She did not know exactly what was wrong, but she did know that Tommy was hurt and that was enough information for her. He, however, didn't know how to tell her that Katherine was with him right now, although they all knew that she was the only one that he wanted there right now. She was the only one that he had something to say to if this went wrong and it very well might this time. He had never been hurt this bad and they couldn't help but think about the possibility of losing him.

"Is he alright?" Kim asked, as Jason looked down at the floor and the other rangers watched as she stood there and looked at the floor, hoping it had answers, knowing that he was stalling for time. She knew him too well, but she was not going to press him as quickly as she would under normal conditions. She didn't want to hear what was wrong with him, she didn't know if she could take the silence much longer. "Jase, is he? Don't lie to me, damn it. Is he alright?"

"We…we…we don't know," Jason managed to finally say as Kim sobbed while Tanya watched with a bit of wonder present. She could tell that Kim still cared, even if it might not have appeared that way to Tommy.

Alex just stepped away and looked at the place and then at his girlfriend. He knew that there was only one person that could be hurt and he hated to know that he might have to fight the man to keep Kim. He could easily do that, but could he fight what her heart wanted? It was starting to become more clear to him that she was not just his and he didn't know what he had done to her when she had left Tommy. He was now getting the idea of what those first few weeks must have been like.

Tanya had never met Kim before, but she got the feeling that her breaking up with Tommy had been a huge mistake on her part, but who was the guy with her? She really did love him and she got the feeling that Kat was not going to be too happy when she saw her walk in, even though they had broken up a few days ago because Tommy just didn't feel strongly enough about her. It was bound to hurt Kat, knowing that she had come to be with him now, when Kat had been there over the last few months, but Tommy was the only one that they were trying to make happy. If he died tonight, at least he would be able to die happy and that was what he deserved.

"Can I see him?" Kim asked, as Jason and Rocky exchanged a look, knowing that Kat might go off on Kim for showing up, although they had merely done what he had asked them to do. They weren't going to disrespect his wishes when he was only asking for a favor, if he was to really die this time he at least deserved to get to see her one more time. "Jason… can I see him?"

"Kimberly, he's very sick. It might not be a good idea for him to see you. We don't want to shock him," Zordon said, as Kim looked up at him and then shook her head that that couldn't be so.

They would not have brought her out there if she was not supposed to see him. They wouldn't have brought her out here to stand in the middle of the damn Command Center crying like an idiot, as Alex watched on and saw the other part of her life that he would never understand. Tommy would not have asked for her to come if he didn't want to see her at all. She knew that much about the man, even if she didn't know much more about him anymore. She knew that he must be in serious trouble to ask for her and the least she could do is tell him that she was here, then she would leave him alone if that was what he wanted.

"Katherine's with him, isn't she?" Kim asked, as they were silent and she was becoming furious with all of them. "Isn't she!"

Jason quietly nodded his head yes, while Kim placed a hand over her eyes before shaking her head. It really did seem dumb to her to come out here, if Katherine was still his girlfriend.

She knew that she needed to go see him, just to let him know she was there, then she would leave Katherine to whatever she wanted to do with him. They were dating and if Tommy died, Kat deserved these moments with him. She had lost that right when she had broke his heart with her letter and she knew that she would find some comfort in Alex, although she was beginning to see herself that he could never fill Tommy's void. Damn, why had it taken this to make her understand it?

"Kim, don't…" Jason said, as Kim walked back towards the medical bay.

She knew where the place was from her experience of being in there, on various occasions, and she was sure they had not moved the place. She also knew that Billy would be in there and he would make sure that she could come in for a few seconds, even if Katherine did yell at her for coming between her and Tommy. If Tommy truly wanted to see her, there was no reason for her to not go in there, no matter what Zordon or anyone else said to her about the situation.

"It's Tommy, isn't it?" Alex asked, as they looked over at him.

He might not have known anything about where he was, but he could tell from Kim's reaction that it could only be one person. He knew that there were only a few people on this Earth that warranted that sort of reaction from Kim and Tommy was one of those people.

"Yeah, it's Tommy and we don't think he's going to make it," Jason said, as Alex shook his head and then looked around the room. He knew what was coming next, but he could only hope that Kim would not completely throw him to the wolves by leaving him alone with them the whole time.

"Well, I guess I better stay out here. He's not going to want to see me," Alex said, as Jason nodded his head in agreement. Tommy might not be feeling well, but Jason would bet all the money he had in the bank that Tommy would still try to jump him. "Um, is there really a chance that he'll die?"

"Yes," Jason whispered, as the word caught in his throat and Alex suddenly realized why it had been so hard for Kim to let go of Tommy.

They had lived and almost died together on the battlefield, for years probably. He had been the one to protect and she, in turn, did the same for him. Alex knew that Kim felt strongly about him, but he also knew, now that there was a good chance that he would never be able to have the full love from her that he wanted. He didn't want to walk away from this relationship, but he also knew that if Tommy died, Kim would never forgive herself for not being out there to protect him that day. She still loved him and he was going to have to let her go, for her good, not his own.

"She needs him, more than she needs me. I should have realized that from the beginning," Alex stated, as they all looked at him.

It was as if he had seen a whole new page of Kim's life open in front of him and the realization let him know what was necessary to be done. He would just have to wait until Kim came back out of the medical bay to let her know that it would be all right for her to go back to Tommy. She needed to go back to Tommy.

"Kimberly," Billy muttered, as he looked up when he saw the door swing open to the medical bay and the petite brunette stand in front of them as she saw Tommy for the first time in almost a year, with mascara running down her face.

This certainly was not how she had pictured seeing him, but she knew that it was going to be horrible when she was told that he wanted her to come. He wouldn't have done that if he was not worried that he wouldn't make it through this. He would have left her name out of it and they all hated to admit how true that was. He always seemed to turn to her when things went wrong and Kat had never been that person.

"No," Kim muttered as she saw that he had burns that covered part of his chest and his arms. She had no clue what type of monster he had been fighting to put him into this situation, but she knew that she couldn't stand seeing him like this. He had never been hurt this bad before. She should have been there to help him, to protect him the way that he had protected her in the past, but they had convinced her to go to that damn gymnastics academy and give up everything that she loved, but for what? "No!"

"Shh," Billy said, as he quickly walked over to Kim who had slumped up against the wall, trying to keep herself from sinking to the floor, as she felt that her knees were weak already. She wouldn't have Tommy to wake her up and she knew that she would need him to do that if she fainted from shock or any other source in the next few seconds. "He just got to sleep. Don't wake him up. He's going to need all the rest he can get."

"He's going to be alright, right? He's not going to…" Kim said, as she couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence without breaking down into uncontrollable sobs, which she was barely able to keep in check now.

She already was so close to doing that and she didn't want to have to deal with the guilt of making him wake up after he was finally comfortable. If she did that, she might as well go back outside and tell them to teleport her back to Florida; he did not need anymore pain to be caused by her. He had had enough come from her already.

"We don't know," Billy said, as Kat looked over at Kim and then looked down at Tommy with a small smile.

The last few weeks had taught Katherine one thing, no matter how much she wanted to fight it, Tommy was meant to be with Kimberly and no one else. This last battle had proved that to her, he didn't really want her at his side, he wanted the woman he fell in love with the moment that he first laid eyes on her. He didn't have anything that he needed to tell Kat if he didn't make it. He only had something that he needed to tell Kim. He didn't care if she didn't want to hear it, she had to in order for him to be able to get out of this alive or be at peace with himself if he died.

"You stay with him now, you were the one he wanted here, not me," Kat said, as she walked over to Kim and saw her look at her with the confusion in her eyes, not knowing why she was being nice to her when she was taking away her boyfriend.

"He's your boyfriend. I just wanted to come tell him that I was here. He needs to know that and then you can stay with him. Alex, accidentally, came and I have a lot to explain to him about what's going on here," Kim said, as none of them noticed Tommy open his eyes and he saw that she was there, although he could barely talk, he was going to try to, he had to try to talk to her.

He had to say something to her, as soon as he could, no matter how much it might strain him. She had to know everything that was on his mind, these last few months had almost killed him and now that he might die, she had to know everything no matter how hard it was going to be on him to say it. If she didn't love him, that was fine but he had to tell her that he was still in love with her, no matter how much it hurt if she didn't feel the same.

"Kim," Tommy whispered, hoarsely, as the three of them looked over to see that he had woken up and that he was looking at her, trying to get only her attention. Billy hated to see that he was not resting as he needed to but he felt Tommy needed to say this and he was not going to listen to what anyone said until then.

"Yes," Kim said, as she walked over to his bed and rested her hand on a piece of non-burned skin, knowing that she didn't want to cause him anymore pain than she had already managed while she had known him.

If he so much as flinched, she was going to let go of him, no matter how much she didn't want to do that. She hated to admit to herself that she felt so compelled to stay here and take care of him, when she had someone outside that was waiting for her to come to him.

"I need to tell you something," Tommy whispered, as Kim looked over at Billy wondering if she was going to be able to take this.

She did not want to hear a deathbed confession from Tommy or any type of deathbed talking from him; he just had to live through this problem. He had lived through so much before; this injury just couldn't be what killed him. He deserved to die of old age. He did not deserve to die from one of these damn monsters attacking him.

"Tommy, you can tell me later. You need to concentrate on getting well. Rest, it'll help you, I promise I'm not going anywhere," Kim said, as Tommy looked at her and then began to say what was on his mind.

He was not going to rest until she knew what he was thinking about. He knew how bad he was, even if they wouldn't say it to him, and he had to tell her, as he knew that making it through was not very likely right now. Billy had contacted Aquitar for some help, but even they were skeptical as to how he could be helped without injuring him further.

"I may not get well this time. Please listen to me, Kim," Tommy muttered, as he saw the look on her face which told him that she would faint soon if he didn't blurt out everything and shock her back into standing on her feet. He couldn't pick her up and he doubted that Billy would be able to wake her up. "I just wanted you to know that I forgive you and I love you, no matter what else happens here over the next few hours."

"I don't want to hear a deathbed confession from you, Tommy. You're going to survive this, I know that you are going to do that. Tommy, don't let go of hope," Kim said as he looked up at her and quietly gave her a hug, although it hurt him to do so. She needed to touch him as much as he needed to touch her and he could tell that very well. It had been far too long since he had last put his arms around her and the feeling of her back in them made him feel stronger. It made him want to survive. "You should rest."

"No, I don't need to do that," Tommy whispered as Kim held a hand over her face as some of his skin was now against her shirt, which made her worry that she had hurt him even more. She did not want to do that to him. "It didn't hurt Kim. Stay with me, I'll be fine with you here and I need someone to tell my parents what happened if I don't make it."

"Damn it, don't talk like that," Kim said as he smiled up at her and then looked to see if Billy and Katherine were still in the room and he was not surprised that both of them had decided to leave them alone. He knew that Billy had a thing for Katherine and he could only hope that the two of them would get along well. He was going to make things right, even if he was destined to leave this Earth in a matter of hours.

"Nice to get some emotion out of you," Tommy said as Kim looked at him and then sat down in a chair, knowing that she couldn't stand much longer without falling to the ground from all of the emotions that were flowing through her right now. "Hey, how is Florida and whatever his name?"

"Whatever his name, is in the Command Center right now and I think he might have added two and two together and gotten the idea of why letting go of you was hard, Tommy," Kim said as she began to cry and then looked back up at him. If he was going to confess, then she was going to begin her own confession. "Tommy, I was wrong and as soon as you get out of here, I promise I will make everything right by you."

"Kim, it's alright. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't feel as if I loved Kat, but there was something missing and I finally figured out what it was, although it makes no sense to me why it matters. It was the way that she looked at me. I know that it sounds stupid, but it was different from you, she couldn't make me look at her by staring at me. You have that capability," Tommy said as Kim sighed and then walked away from his bed before turning around to face him. If he was going to die, he at least deserved to know that she felt the same as he did about her.

"Funny that you mention that. Alex is the same way. Tommy, I really don't feel right being in here with you and him being out there. Can I bring him in? I know you don't want to meet him, but I want you to know why he isn't the one that I imagine spending the rest of my life with," Kim said, quietly as he looked at her and nodded his head that she could go get Alex. She felt it was important and she felt that Alex would somehow understand why she couldn't go through with their relationship once they got back to Florida, if she even went back. She didn't know if she had the strength to leave Tommy twice. "I'll be right back."

"I'll be waiting," Tommy said, as he felt a pang of jealousy as he watched Kim leave the room, but he knew she was coming back and he knew that she was his, just because of the last words she said to him. It was not much assurance, but it was more than what he needed right now to give him some hope.

"Is he doing okay?" Jason asked, worriedly, as Kim walked out from behind the steel doors and walked right over to Alex, who seemed surprised. He had expected to be left alone by her for the rest of the time he was here. He had already accepted his fate.

"Come with me," Kim said, grabbing him by the wrist and leaving the others completely speechless. Why had she come to get him?

"Kim, we need to talk," Alex said, as Kim stopped walking and looked at him with a little bit of curiosity in her eyes. She knew that he had probably picked up on the problems, but she doubted he was going to initiate their break up. It just wasn't the way that he was.

"Alex, we'll have plenty of time to talk later. I want you to meet Tommy," Kim said, as Alex completely stopped her from moving and held her in a tight hug.

"You love him, don't you?" Alex asked, as Kim tilted her head down and shook her head yes. It was all he needed to know, all the conformation that he needed, to go through with what he had just planned. "Then why don't I let the both of you be happy? We can still be friends and you know that you can trust me if anything happens."

"Don't do this to yourself," Kim said, as she continued to look down and then cried a little on his chest as he tried to soothe her as much as possible.

There was nothing he could do to make Tommy well and that was all that she wanted right now. She wanted him to be fine and he could tell she wished that she had been there today to look out for him, like she had in the past. The thing that had kept her away was gymnastics and he was sure that she would never come back to the gym, no matter what she said to anyone. She had made up her mind the moment she was brought here by them.

"I can't keep on doing this to you either. It's not fair to either one of us. Come on, he's waiting for you to get back in there," Alex said, as he coaxed Kim back towards the medical bay and as soon as he opened the door, he knew why she was worried. He had never seen someone look like that before and he knew that whatever had gotten a hold of Tommy had hurt him badly.

"Hey," Tommy said, as he looked at the two of them and noticed that Alex was hanging back. He seemed to be frightened about moving anymore remotely close to Tommy right now. Tommy couldn't help but be nice, he honestly didn't have the strength to do anything to anyone. "It's not exactly like I can jump you right now. I don't bite, too much."

"Should have known," Alex said, as he let Kim sit down in the chair that had been placed next to Tommy's bed and watched as she reached out and placed a hand on his upper arm, gently squeezing it as he looked over at her. "What happened?"

"I don't really remember, but it landed me here," Tommy said, as he watched Kim, who seemed torn between throwing herself on top of him for another hug and resting her head on Alex's shoulder for a good cry. "You know, I probably should let the two of you get back out there."

"It's just going to be me going. I think that it is better for the two of you to be alone," Alex said, as he gave Kim a squeeze on the shoulder and looked at her one last time. He knew he would see her again, maybe once or twice, but he knew that it would not be through the same rose-colored glasses. He now knew the truth about her and he couldn't say that he loved her any less for it, but he knew that she loved him so much more.

AN: That is the official end of the story, but be looking for a sequel to come out in the next week or so. I didn't want to shift the focus in one story, but I hope that you have liked this story and I hope you will read its sequel. Thanks so much to those that reviewed, it inspires me to keep writing! See you next time!


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